Tubular handling equipment for surface handling has in the past involved slips that can be set and a locking or anchoring device apart from the slips that was hydraulically operated. This design is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,371,387 and 8,342,250. Another design for setting slips and locking the set or releasing the lock with axial movement so that additional grips can be made for repositioning of a tubular cutter are shown in US2013/0048273 and US2013/0048268. Also of interest for use of a hydraulic torque locking mechanism in conjunction with slips is application Ser. No. 13/689,911 filed in the US on Nov. 30, 2012. US2012/0111556 sets slips with rotation of the mandrel.
These designs lacked features found in the present invention. In some locations hydraulic power may not be available so that prior designs that relied on such power could not be deployed. Other designs that set with rotation were not configured to avoid release upon subsequent rotation in either direction and created the possibility of releasing the string if rotation in the wrong direction was initiated. The present invention provides for setting the slips and locking the set with a common rotational movement, among other things. Once the tubular is gripped and the grip is locked rotation in either direction will not release the lock and for that reason will not allow the grip on the tubular to be released. Release can happen with axial movement made possible by the tubular having rig floor support coupled with rotation. These and other features of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from a review of the detailed description of the preferred embodiment and the associated drawings while recognizing that the full scope of the invention is to be determined from the appended claims.